Here are pics of Jimi Hendrix in the Army

Like Elvis, Jimi Hendrix once served in the Army. Unlike Elvis, he served before he was famous. And while Elvis was drafted, Jimi opted to enlist rather than taking jail time after his second time getting busted stealing cars. And, definitely unlike Elvis, Jimi was discharged for excessive masturbation.

The complaints in his discharge papers include: “behavior problems, requires excessive supervision while on duty, little regard for regulations, apprehended masturbating in platoon area while supposed to be on detail.”

After serving just a year in the 101st Airborne division at age 19, Hendrix was discharged in 1962—and good thing, he immediately dove into guitar and won his first amateur contest at the Apollo in 1964. So while we may not love what the Army did in the 1960s, we can at least thank them for releasing Jimi Hendrix.

A few other musicians you’ll probably be surprised to learn served in the Army: Jerry Garcia, Johnny Cash, John Fogerty, Ice-T, and Maynard James Keenan of Tool, whose Wiki page claims he was inspired to join after watching Bill Murray in “Stripes,” “with the intention of having the G.I. Bill fund his dream of attending art school” by way of an article in “Spin.”